How Empowering Women Has Shaped Our Business Mission

Empowering women is the central philosophy of our business and promoting mental health is a key commitment for CaroQuilla. That’s why we’re proud to give our time and donations to local mental health organizations. 

“Issues around mental health are something I know all too well. In my family, for generations, many have faced the all too common issue of depression and anxiety – particularly the women. Growing up and seeing my mother as a strong, resilient and independent woman, I was shocked to learn that she had reached a point where she felt unable to carry on. Phoning my sister, she said it was all too much and that she wanted to end it. Thankfully she reached out for help and her story did not end there.”

Later, Maria learned that her maternal grandmother also struggled with depression and anxiety but lacked support. Living in El Salvador back then, there was no one to call.

Growing up Maria wanted to be just like these two women. Strong, hard-working and independent, but she hadn’t bargained on being like them in these other ways.

Maria has always been an active, busy woman working 12 hours a day and volunteering when she could. Suddenly, Maria found herself barely able to get out of bed, was struggling to make it to work each day and just wanted to hide away and cry… 

One day, it all came to a head for Maria: 

“While having a bath, I thought I was having a heart attack and would die! I went to see my doctor and told him everything. He told me it was a panic attack and diagnosed me with generalized anxiety disorder and depression.”

Mental Health Matters

Prior to this episode, Maria didn’t know much about mental health but she set out to fix that and started researching. She set out to learn and empower herself and others. To do this, she made some changes in her life. She started focusing on her physical health as well as mental health and went back to university to get a major in Psychology. 

Mental health issues are common and don't have to mean the end of anything. For Maria, it was the beginning of something wonderful and she believes it can be that for others as well: 

“I want to play a part in that transformation for someone I have to. Living with mental health issues can feel debilitating but we need to love ourselves, we need to be empowered to be ourselves.”

We Empower Women

Our driving mission at CaroQuilla is to empower women. We believe that having beautiful, comfortable garments allows a woman to feel beautiful and confident. Confidence to do more and be more; it’s about self-care – not looking good for someone else. 

We will continue to advocate for mental health awareness. Mental health issues affect so many people. We are committed to donating both a portion of all our profits and our time to local mental health charities.